two cats, two televisions

Before I have my key in the door it starts. The meowing. An incessant meowing. Not a me-e-ow here and there, more like a staccato, with no pause for breath and definitely not drawn out. meowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeow. Then, she flops down in front of my feet with no warning, no change in her meowmeowmeow. We play for a bit. She may or may not eat, now that I am here. She grabs a drink of water, then ... pounces. I don't think this cat knows how to retract her claws. She kneads your neck. your neck!! I found some teatowels and learned to drape myself; the claws get through but not as sharply. We finally settle into a routine and I bring over an old toy of Abby's that she no longer bothers with. It is a flexible wire with bits of cardboard on either end. You can hold it with one hand and let it flop around and watch the cat do amazing pirouettes, flips and triple salchows and stretch every single muscle her body owns. I sigh as I think how I can barely straighten up after tying my shoes.

My cat, Abby is almost 15 years old. Maggie is a little over a year old. I often wonder what I will do when Abby is gone - will I get another kitten? an older cat? or maybe two cats?

I have noticed within the last couple of weeks that she no longer follows me every time I head for the washroom. She now barely even deigns to open one eye when I move. Lazy beggar. She's fine and healthy, just... old, I guess.

So, babysitting Maggie was an interesting reminder. I have heard, from my friend Brian, that she has become much more affectionate since he returned after two weeks away!

While we are playing with towels and bits of cardboard and wire, I watch TV. I soon started timing my visits to coincide with certain programs. That big screen ( 27", 32", I forgot to measure, but certainly way bigger than my 17") with HD and satellite almost had me gasping. I don't watch an awful lot of television, so never pay much attention to the latest innovations. I soon started rethinking that. Wondering just how much a satellite dish cost anyway... and now that my television has decided to be most unco-operative (it turns itself off whenever it feels like it and has a fuzzy reflection on the screen and I'm told: it's better to just buy a new one...)

So now, I am sitting here with a cat who may or may not have moved from her (my) bed since I came home from work at 4:30AM and no tv at all. I feel a little lost. Yet liberated at the same time. I have no idea what shows I am missing because I only check the listings if I know I can be at home and watch it. I can at least scratch behind an ear or two without having my neck scarred. And we both seem to have a lot of time to stretch out the massage. I should think about charging her for the hour. Nah, I'm getting my pleasure in reflective contemplation and warmth from a heavy cat stretched across my stomach and chest. It's lovely really, this slow, steady non- moving sleepy cat.

I went to the store to check out new televisions (if I am paying for cable, I should at least have the choice of watching it or not, yes?) and am still undecided. Then I wandered next door to the pet store. The kittens were sleeping.